Patriots make their pitch

Published 2:27 pm, Friday, April 22, 2016

Blessed with strong arms, solid bats and plenty of experience, the Patriots have raced to the top of the league standings, as well as the No. 6 slot in the latest Division 3 state poll. They picked up the first in their long list of goals here Monday afternoon, clinching their second straight GTW championship with a well-played 4-2 and 9-2 sweep of Bad Axe.

Junior Heath Schmidt and senior Matias Kraynak pitched a pair of spiffy completegames for the Patriots,something coach Jason Beagle has grown accustomed to seeing each and every outing.

"That's kind of been the story of our season," said Beagle, whose team is now 21-2 overall, 9-1 GTW. "We've hit the ball pretty well, but our pitching staff has really kept us in games.

"This is the deepest staff we've had since I've been here. I have kids who would normally be starting that just haven't had a chance to get many innings. It's a nice problem to have."

It was Bad Axe's problem, too, here Monday. The Hatchets had a couple of chances to have big innings in both games, but couldn't come through when they needed it.

"They got the clutch hits when they needed to, and we just didn't," said Bad Axe coach Wayne Turmell, whose team falls to 14-10 overall, 6-3 GTW.

"Of course, their pitching had a lot to do with that. Heath and Matias threw great. Both kept the ball down in the zone, and Matias had great movement."

In the opener, Schmidt moved to 8-0 overall on the season, tossing a five-hitter while allowing no earned runs. He fanned just one, but threw only 68 pitches in a game which last just over an hour.

"After the game, I was telling one of their coaches, 'That's how a league championship game should be played.’ Good pitching, solid defense… It was just a good baseball game."

USAled 2-0 after three innings in the opener. Brandon Bitzer doubled in the opening inning, and later scored on a pair of groundouts. The Patriots added an unearned run in the third before the Hatchets came back to tie it.

Bad Axe scored twice in the top of the fourth on singles from Joe Fischer and Tim Rader, followed by a two-run double from Aaron Manenti.

USA, though, got one of those runs back in its half of the inning when Tyson Valentine slugged an opposite field home run.

USAadded an insurance run in the sixth when, with two outs, Ryan Zimmer walked and stole second. He scored on a single from Tim Holland.

Schmidt got three Bad Axe pop outs in the seventh to preserve the win, lowering his season's ERA to under 1.00.

Kraynak was just as impressive in the nightcap for the Patriots. The crafty lefty fanned eight, walked two and threw just 89 pitches. Only one of Bad Axe's two runs were earned.

Bad Axe actually jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the opening inning on a walk to Pete Salens, a bunt single from Chris Smith, and an RBI groundout from Jason Brown.

USAtook the lead for good in the third on a single from Shane Schmidt, a double from Heath Schmidt, and a two-run single from Lance VanHoost.

USAadded a single run in the fourth on a walk to Valentine, a single from Kelson Gettel and an RBI fielder's choice from Bitzer.

The Patriots broke it open in the fifth with three runs, though had just one hit. They were aided by a walk, an error and a wild pitch. VanHoost had the inning's lone hit.

Bad Axe managed its final run in the fifth on a single from Mitch Roth, followed by an RBI groundout from Smith.

USAput the finishing touches on in the seventh with three more runs, highlighted by RBI singles from Nick Eisengruber and Gettel.

With another GTW title now secure, the Patriots have a couple of weeks to tinker before districts start. Last season, the Patriots captured district and regional hardware before bowing out in the state quarterfinals to Saginaw Nouvel.

"We have great team chemistry, guys really pull for each other — and that's been great," he said. "You never expect to have this kind of record, but everything has worked pretty well so far for us.

"The kids early in the year put it on their shoulders. They set some lofty goals. They weren't shy about setting them. We told them that those goals were great, but now you have to go out and get them. It's easy to say it, but now you have to go and do it."